New Independent Study Reveals Surprising Facts About How Americans Pay for Their Vacations
The new study from CreditCardReviews.com surveyed 1,600 Americans on vacation in the Caribbean and asked how they pay for their vacations. Results showed the travelers' preferred payment method, the types of credit cards people use, awareness of foreign transaction fees, the percentage of people using miles to book a vacation and more.
BOSTON, Oct. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- New study results from CreditCardReviews.com released today reveal surprising facts regarding how Americans pay for their vacations. More than 1,600 Americans traveling in the Caribbean from July 7 to August 31, 2018 were surveyed in person and asked how they were paying for their vacation – credit card, debit card, miles/points, or cash?
Additional survey questions asked if travelers were on a cruise or island vacation; anticipated budget and method of payment for non-cash related expenses on their trip; awareness of foreign transaction fees on their debit or credit card; if a rewards card was being used; and what types of rewards were being earned with their rewards card. Results revealed the following:
- To pay for their vacation, 81% of the 1,600 respondents surveyed used a credit card. Only 17% used their rewards points or miles. Only 1% used cash or a debit card to pay for their trip.
- 71% of those who responded that they were using a credit card to pay for their trip were using a rewards card. Only 29% were using a credit card that did not offer rewards.
- 62% of respondents using a rewards card reported that they were earning points and miles from their credit card. Only 38% said that they were earning cash back.
- More people use miles/points to book a regular vacation, rather than a cruise. Only 4% reported booking a cruise, while 20% used miles/points to book a regular vacation.
- However, interestingly, 93% of people reported using a credit card to pay for a cruise, while 79% reported using a credit card to book a regular vacation.
- When asked about foreign transaction fees, 48% of respondents knew there was no fee charged by their issuer, 38% knew there was a fee, and only 14% were unaware.
Study results regarding foreign transaction fees revealed the following:
- The size of the vacation budget directly impacts awareness of foreign transaction fees. For vacation budgets over $5,000, 100% of respondents were aware of foreign transaction fees and 94% had a no foreign transaction fee credit card.
- For vacation budgets from $2,500 to $5,000, 95% of respondents were aware of foreign transaction fees and 81% had a no foreign transaction fee credit card.
- For vacation budgets from $1,000 to $2,500, 86% of respondents were aware of foreign transaction fees and 38% had a no foreign transaction fee credit card.
- For vacation budgets under $1,000, only 70% knew about foreign transaction fees and just 30% had a no foreign transaction fee credit card.
- The study revealed that 51% of credit cards which did not offer rewards imposed foreign transaction fees.
- 59% of credit cards which did offer rewards did not impose foreign transaction fees.
Visit https://www.creditcardreviews.com/blog/summer-2018-credit-card-vacation-spending-survey for more information.
About CreditCardReviews.com
Since 2012, CreditCardReviews.com has provided an honest, comparative service for consumers who are looking for a new credit card. As a comparison website, visitors may select certain attributes they are seeking in a credit card and information is displayed based on this request, showing ratings and reviews of previous visitors to the website. This provides the consumer with the ability to find the type of credit card that best meets their needs based on unbiased user feedback.
SOURCE CreditCardReviews.com
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